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OIHAT  THE   LIBRARY 
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oaR-FOREiGf)  Boan 


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WHAT  THE  LIBRARY  CAN  DO 
FOR  OUR  FOREIGN-BORN 

BT  JOHN  FOSTER  CARR 

A  TALK  BEFORE  THE  MASSACHUSETTS  LIBRARY  CLUB, 

AT  WILLIAMSTOWN,  MASS.,  MAY  23RD,   1913 

Reprinted  in  part  from  the  Massachusetts  Library   Club  Bulletin. 


"Fresh  among  my  boyhood's  memories 
— I  am  talking  of  the  early  eighties — there 
are  pictures  of  two  librarians,  one  a  grave 
but  genial  scholar  of  remarkable  erudition, 
the  head  of  a  great  library;  the  other  a 
young  lady  whose  duties  in  a  town  library 
made  no  serious  inroads  upon  her  favorite 
work  of  knitting.  I  do  not  pretend  to  say 
how  far  these  two  were,  for  their  primitive 
time,  prevailing  types  of  librarians,  but 
types,  1  believe,  they  were.  To  compass 
"all  learning"  was  long  the  ideal  of  the 
library,  that  the  scholar-librarian  fol- 
lowed. Now,  as  it  seems  to  me,  with  your 
new  scientific  organization,  "all  life"  has 
become  the  library's  province  and  every 
library  is  busy  doing  new  planning  and 
new  work  for  its  conquest,  developing 
greater  educative  force,  greater  attractive 
social  power.  And  for  the  librarian's 
despair,  with  the  coming  of  this  new  pur- 
pose, our  life  grows  more  and  more  com- 
-»lex,  as  it  rapidly  develops  a  new  civil- 
tion. 

'The   new   duties,    for   instance,    that 

nigration  is  putting  upon  the  libraries 

tly  complicate  the  question  of  the  li- 

ry's  development.    It  is  a  national  prob- 

1  that  it  is  largely  for  you  to  meet,  un- 

;stionably  the  greatest  educational  prob- 

1  yet  attempted  in  this  country.    How 

.all  I  state  its  size  and  significance  to  you? 

"Define   first    the    problem    from    the 

Dint  of  numbers:   It  will  be  the  marvel  of 

le  future  that  we  have  sometimes  received 

million  immigrants  a  year,  and  yet  that 

)r  so  many  years  we  have  done  nothing  for 

leir  systematic  Americanization  and  edu- 

ation.    The  Director  of  the  Census  made 

he  announcement  last  October  that  there 

'ere   among   us    3,612,700   foreign    born 

rhite  males  of  voting  age,  who  are  not 

aturalized — a   fact   that   carries   a   con- 

equence    of    probably    7,000,000    men, 

i^omen  and  children  more  or  less  out  of 

ouch  with  American  ideals  and  American 

deas.    In  your  own  Massachusetts  where 


your  1,059,245  foreign-born  amount  to 
very  nearly  one-third  of  your  total  popu- 
lation, 264,475,  or  58  per  cent,  of  your 
foreign-born  white  males  of  voting  age  are 
not  naturalized.  Of  this  million  again, 
141,541  are  illiterates,  10  years  of  age  and 
over.  These  large  figures  bring  home  to 
you  a  problem  that  is  national. 

After  describing  the  character  and 
quality  of  these  immigrant  peoples,  their 
need  of  an  American  education,  and  our 
opportunity  and  duty  of  helping  them, 
Mr.  Carr  continued:  "The  school,  the 
great  assimilator  of  our  foreign  children, 
has,  it  must  frankly  be  admitted,  ac- 
complished little  for  the  adult  foreign-born. 
It  has  found  it  difficult  to  refashion  its 
educational  method  to  the  immediate 
necessity  of  the  case.  Neither  books,  nor 
seats,  nor  system  have  been  well  adapted 
to  the  instruction  of  the  immigrant.  Al- 
together the  handicap  has  been  too  serious 
a  one  to  be  surmounted  by  any  but  the  most 
intelligent,  persistent,  and  ambitious  of 
these  new  comers. 

"The  library  has  a  far  greater  oppor- 
tunity in  this  work  than  the  school.  And 
for  the  Americanization  of  the  adult 
foreign-born,  in  its  own  way,  it  can  render 
the  same  service  that  the  school  does  for  the 
foreign-born  child.  Its  aid  is  more  inviting 
and  less  formal.  It  makes  less  strenuous 
demand  upon  the  attention  of  a  man  who 
is  often  exceedingly  tired  after  a  long  day's 
work.  It  welcomes  the  man  who  thinks 
himself  too  old  for  school.  It  is  open 
throughout  the  year  where  the  night  school 
at  most  is  only  open  seven  months  of  the 
year.  It  can  furnish  papers  and  books  in 
his  own  language  and  thus  provide  a 
homely  air.  It  gives  him  a  sense  of  joint 
right  and  ownership  with  us  in  the  best 
things  of  our  country,  and  that  without  a 
suggestion  of  patronizing  interest.  Best 
of  all,  I  think,  it  can  put  the  immigrant  in 
effective  touch  with  American  democracy, 
American  ideals,  and  so  better  than  any 


other  agency  destroy  the  impression  of 
merciless  commercialism  that  so  many  of 
our  immigrants  in  their  colonies  con- 
tinually assert  is  the  main  characteristic 
of  our  civilization. 

"In  Mount  Vernon  we  made  a  first 
experiment,  trying  to  work  out  a  practical 
plan  that  would  be  useful  in  this  new  field 
of  education:  The  education  and 
Americanization  of  our  immigrants.  We 
mean  to  give  them,  first  of  all,  a  cordial 
welcome  to  the  new  land,  to  bring  them  in 
touch  with  the  best  and  most  helpful  things 
in  American  life;  and  then  to  give  them 
such  education — civic  and  other — as  they 
know  they  need,  and  so  often  desire,  and 
to  help  prepare  them  for  citizenship.  As 
a  first  step,  with  the  active  help  of  their 
leading  men  in  Mount  Vernon,  we  have 
been  giving  a  series  of  very  simple  lectures 
to  the  foreign-born  in  their  own  languages. 
These  lectures  have  been  based  on  our 
"Guide  to  the  United  States  for  the 
Immigrant"  and  have  been  in  Italian, 
Yiddish,  Swedish  and  English.  They  have 
been  given  in  the  public  school,  and  all 
necessary  expenses  have  been  paid  by  the 
Board  of  Education. 

"  Afttr  a  few  of  th-jse  lcct';rcs,  we  tooV.  up 
the  sctond  and  more  important  pan  of 
our  plan — the  use  of  the  library  in  the  work. 
The  difficulties  are  often  that  foreign-born 
working  men  and  women  either  do  not  know 
of  the  existence  of  the  library,  or  they  fear 
that  they  will  be  unwelcome  visitors.  Once 
persuaded  to  enter  they  need  immediate 
personal  attention.  Index  cards  are  im- 
possible to  them;  the  open  shelf  is  generally 
almost  useless;  they  know  little  or  nothing 
of  the  proper  use  of  books.  In  short,  they 
require  much  painstaking  individual  help 
from  the  librarian. 

"And  this  is  what  we  have  done:  In 
March  one  of  these  school  meetings  for 
Italians  was  adjourned  at  9  o'clock  and 
became  a  personally  conducted  tour  to  the 
Public  Library.  The  Verdi  Club  welcomed 
us  there  with  "Santa  Lucia,"  "Bella 
Napoli,"  and  selections  from  Verdi  and 
Mascagni  on  mandolin  and  guitar.  There 
was  a  first  simple  talk  on  libraries  and  their 
privileges.  Our  guests  learned  that  the 
library,  like  the  school,  is  the  property  of 
the  public,  and  that  full  privilege  of  it 
belongs  to  every  man  and  woman  and 
reading  child  living  in  Mount  Vernon.  The 
different  rooms  of  the  library  were  ex- 
plained; the  few  simple  rules  stated.    The 


public  promise  was  made:  'The  more  you 
use  the  library,  the  more  Italian  books, 
papers  and  magazines  we  shall  buy.'  The 
librarian  made  a  special  point  of  meeting 
personally  as  many  as  possible  of  the 
people,  giving  a  social  and  friendly  air  to 
the  place.  Afterwards  it  was  a  pleasure 
to  see  them  crowd  around  the  desk  asking 
for  cards,  when  it  was  discovered  that  these 
could  be  had — and  books  with  them,  too — 
immediately,  by  any  one  who  would  give 
a  name  in  the  Mount  Vernon  directory  of 
someone  who  could  vouch  for  the  appli- 
cant's honesty  and  good  character.  The 
evening  closed  with  more  music. 

"Not  too  much  was  attempted  that 
first  night.  For  the  second  library  meeting 
the  lecture  was  given  in  the  auditorium  of 
the  library  itself.  The  public  invitation 
given  was  made  general.  Parents  were 
particularly  requested  to  bring  their 
children,  who,  it  was  announced,  would  be 
entertained  in  the  children's  room  by  the 
assistant  in  charge  of  the  children's  depart- 
ment. This  meeting  was  largely  devoted  to 
a  lecture  in  Italian,  and  there  was  more 
pleasant  and  informal  talk  about  the 
library  itself  and  its  privileges.  The  Verdi 
Club,  as  aJwavs,  eagerlv  volunteered  its 
servrcM  .'or  ^rtertainniim'.  Selcv.tJons, 
vocal  as  well  as  instrumental,  we.'  very 
successfully  given;  and  an  acco  :  .'iished 
young  actress  recited  Pascal  il  gro- 
tesquely humorous  'Discovery  o.  .'v.merica' 
to  the  enthusiastic  plaudits  oi"  the  crowd 

"Fulfilling  our  promise,  ->  r.ew  list  o" 
Italian  books  has  been  p':  ,:  jsed.  Thii 
includes  a  few  Italian  class  „s  not  in  the 
library,  and  a  certain  n  .  :',;er  of  English, 
French  and  Russian  novels  in  Italian  trans- 
lation— all  world  classirs.  A  particular 
point  was  made  of^:;.  ng  books  that  are 
either  translations  of  famous  American 
works,  or  books  about  the  United  States 
and  American  life.  A  second  list  already 
approved  and  next  to  be  ordered  is  of 
similar  character,  including,  besides  a 
liberal  supply  of  fiction,  books  of  travel, 
with  a  further  sprinkling  of  American 
authors.  There  has  also  been  conditionally 
promised  by  a  friend  of  the  library  a  set 
of  books  already  selected,  devoted  chiefly 
to  works  describing  the  new  Italy  and  its 
aspirations,  simple  books  of  biography, 
science,  mechanics,  hygiene,  with  further 
additions  of  Italian  classics. 

"The  individual  attention  of  the  li- 
brarian is  proving  the  largest  factor  in  the 


C^  i 
success  of  the  work.  She  explains  the 
Tiysteries  of  procedure  from  open  shelf  and 
ielection  of  books  to  their  registration  and 
:are.  Beginning  with  the  Immigrant's 
Guide,  which  she  calls  "the  foundation  on 
which  the  librarian  must  build"  in  this 
work,  she  helpfully  learns  what  are  the 
new  member's  needs  and  tastes.  Here  the 
Guide  is  of  special  service  and  becomes  a 
useful  interpreter  between  them,  for  it  is 
accessible  in  English  to  the  librarian,  and 
can  be  read  in  his  own  Italian  or  Polish  or 
Yiddish  by  the  newcomer.  By  gentle  hint 
and  open  advice,  through  other  books  in 
his  own  language,  he  is  given  the  chance  of 
learning  something  of  American  life,  its 
ideals  and  opportunities.  He  learns  of 
books  that  will  serve  not  only  for  his 
amusement  and  pleasure,  but  for  the  best 
education  of  which  he  is  capable,  and  so 
help  him  to  earn  more  money  and  more 
fully  enjoy  life. 

.  "One  question  that  has  been  taken  up 
has  been  the  abuse  of  books.  It  was  found 
that  many  Italian  working  men  who  had  had 
few  advantages  of  education  in  their  own 
country  occasionally  brought  their  books 
back  either  badly  soiled,  or  torn.  To 
nrovid?  a  -prnedj-  for  this  In  u  fr'en/'y  \>ut 
eii^ciive  *<^y.  making  a  diivcr  :ijpea!  to 
th  >  'der,  the  following  notice  in  Italian, 
witi  :  familiar  appealing  "thou's,"  was 
preptre.  and  is  now  being  pasted  on  the 
covers  ot  11  Italian  books  in  the  library: 
"  'Frien  ■   -   ader! 

This  ba  i  full  of  wise  advice  and  use- 
ful informal  '  for  thee.  Treat  it  well,  as 
thou  woulds-  good  friend.  Do  not 
rumple  it.  Do  wil  it.  Do  not  tear  it. 
Think  that  aftv-  Tiving  been  useful  to 
thee,  it  must  be  of  ice  to  a  great  number 
of  thy  compatriots.  To  damage  it,  to  tear 
it,  to  soil  it,  would  give  a  bad  impression 
of  thee  and  prevent  other  Italians  getting 
benefit  from  this  book  Respect  this 
volume  for  the  good  name  and  for  the 
advantage  of  Italians. 

"This  book  must  be  returned  to  the 
Public  Library  of  Mount  Vernon,  New 
York,  within  two  weeks.' 

"And  for  those  who  abuse  books,  the 
plan  has  been  formed  of  showing,  when 
necessary,  a  copy  of  the  Immigrant's  Guide 
that  had  only  been  borrowed  once,  and 
then  returned  to  the  library  in  so  bad  a 
condition  that  it  cannot  again  be  sent  out, 
comparing  with  this  a  copy  of  Dante  that 
was   printed   in   Venice   in    1529,   whose 


pages  are  as  clean,  and  in  many  cases  al- 
most as  white,  as  when  it  left  the  press, 
nearly  400  years  ago. 

"In  such  meetings  as  these  it  is  intended 
for  the  future  to  have  always  some  spoken 
English.  At  one  of  them,  there  was  an 
Italian  speech  by  an  American.  We  are 
trying  to  cultivate  intimate  and  friendly 
relations  with  our  foreign-born  friends, 
and  to  do  this  on  so  simple  and  demo- 
cratic a  basis,  that  there  can  be  no  sus- 
picion of  a  patronizing  interest  on  our  part. 
It  is  noteworthy  that  the  success  of  these 
Italian  meetings  in  Mount  Vernon  has  been 
made  possible  by  the  very  hearty  co- 
operation of  two  Italians  locally  prominent, 
both  contractors — the  most  important 
contractors  of  the  town — and  of  the 
Italian  Catholic  Priest. 

"The  first  book  needed  for  starting 
this  new  educational  work,  and  the  first 
prepared  was  a  Guide — a  guide,  if  you 
please,  to  American  life,  a  kind  of  immi- 
grant's Baedeker,  telling  the  man  those 
things  that  he  knows  he  needs  to  know 
about  our  country:  How  to  find  work; 
How  to  travel  in  this  strange  land,  where 
everything,  they  say,  seems  to  be  upside 
dovn;  Uc~-  to  '"*ni  F~g!'"="h:  The  rb-'n-* 
ut  Agricuiture — th«^  siory  ol  the  suo.:H-is  of 
the  80,000  Italians,  of  the  30,000  Jews  on 
farms  in  this  country,  of  our  70,000  Polish 
farmers;  The  geography,  climate,  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States;  How  immi- 
grants can  become  citizens;  The  laws  they 
are  liable  to  break  innocently,  and  other 
laws  important  to  them;  Health;  Chapters 
on  Savings  Banks,  on  notaries  and  other 
abuses,  and  private  advice.  The  Guide 
was  prepared  throughout  with  immigrant 
co-operation,  with  the  help  of  those  who 
know  the  life  and  language  of  the  immi- 
grant. It  has  now  been  published  in  four 
languages,  especially  adapting  each  book 
in  every  detail  to  these  different  nation- 
alities. Demands  are  now  being  made  for 
similar  books  written  in  the  same  manner 
and  style — for  a  United  States  history,  for 
simple  biographies,  a  simple  book  of  civics, 
a  simple  book  on  learning  English. 

"We  shall  soon  need  to  go  to  press  with 
new  editions  of  the  Polish  and  Yiddish 
books.  Three  English  editions  have  been 
printed  and  we  are  now  issuing  a  third 
Italian  edition.  Hundreds  of  calls  have 
come  for  the  book  in  twenty-two  other 
languages.  In  the  work  we  have  had  the 
earnest  co-operation  of  men  of  different 


religions — Catholic  and  Jew  as  heartily 
helpful  as  Protestant.  The  press  has  given 
us  constant  helpful  publicity,  calling  the 
little  book,  with  many  variations  of  phrase, 
a  Guide  to  the  Immigrant — a  means, 
through  understanding  sympathy,  of  de- 
stroying the  things  that  separate,  working 
for  broader  democracy,  a  more  generous 
human  fellowship. 

"Night  schools  and  educational  in- 
stitutions of  many  kinds  have  started 
successful  work  with  the  Guide.  The 
lectures  as  given  in  Mount  Vernon  have 
proved  so  attractive  and  useful  that  they 
have  drawn  large  audiences  of  immigrant 
workers  in  New  York,  in  Boston — under 
the  auspices  of  the  Lowell  Institute — and 
in  many  other  places. 

"And  the  library  has  proved  a  powerful 
ally.  In  spite  of  a  rule  against  books  in 
foreign  languages,  the  Guide  was  im- 
mediately included  in  the  A.  L.  A.  Book- 
list. And  a  number  of  libraries,  scattered 
widely  over  the  country,  began  a  new 
work.  A  few,  for  the  first  time,  printed 
their  rules  in  a  foreign  language.  Some 
systematically  started  the  adults'  interest 
through  the  children.  Others  made  an 
appeal  directly  to  these  foreign-born 
working  folk.  One  broke  all  precedent 
and  placed  the  Guide  on  sale  at  the  desk. 

"To  help  the  propaganda  the  Italian 
National    Society,    the    Dante    Alighieri, 


promised  the  presentation  of  ten  libraries 
of  selected  Italian  books  to  public  libraries 
in  towns  where  this  educational  work  for 
Italian  immigrants  had  been  undertaken. 
These  gifts  led  to  enterprising  efforts  by 
several  libraries;  some  even  listing  the 
Italian  families  of  the  town,  and  sending 
them  postal  card  notices  of  the  new  Italian 
department.  In  one  place  the  Italian 
residents  and  working  men  held  two  public 
meetings  to  collect  money  to  increase  still 
further  the  library's  supply  of  Italian 
books. 

"And  the  work  grew.  Other  libraries 
tried  the  experiment.  'Repeat  orders' 
began  to  come,  with  the  first  one  the  news 
that  the  single  copy  of  the  Guide  had 
proved  so  popular  that  it  was  'worn  out 
completely.'  It  was  replaced  with  a  dozen 
copies,  and  soon  we  were  told  that  by  hard 
use  the  new  books  were  'also  wearing  out.' 
The  Massachusetts  Free  Public  Library 
Commission  bought  the  book  in  quantity, 
ordered  them  specially  bound,  and  ar- 
ranged for  their  efficient  distribution  to 
the  libraries  of  the  state. 

"In  this  work  clearly  lies  an  oppor- 
tunity to  give  the  library  greater  edu- 
cational and  social  power,  by  opening  it  to 
whole  classes  of  people  who  know  noth'ng 
of  libraries,  little  of  books.  For  this  se'vice 
we  need  the  heart  interest  of  all  w'.io  be- 
lieve in  what  we  are  doing." 


Immigrant  Education  Society 

PURPOSES: 

To  give  our  immigrants  a  cordial  welcome  to  the  new  land. 

To  give  them  practical  information  that  will  save  them  from  their 
exploiters. 

To  give  them  practical  and  accurate  information  about  the  oppor- 
tunities of  American  life — particularly  of  American  agricultural  life. 

To  help  them  to  such  useful  education — civic  and  other — as  they 
know  they  need  and  so  often  desire. 

With  all  respect  for  their  love  for  their  Motherland,  to  prepare 
those  who  wish  to  remain  among  us  for  intelligent  and  patriotic  Ameri- 
can citizenship. 

IN  SHORT,  FOR  OUR  COMMON  WELFARE,  as  friends, 
to  open  to  our  immigrants  the  doors  of  American   life  and  citizenship. 

IMMIGRANT    EDUCATION   SOCIETY 

241  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York. 


